The present invention relates generally to sunshades for vehicles and, more particularly, to such a sunshade including a selectively retractable extender that may be used to increase the coverage area of the sunshade.
It is well known to provide a sunshade for the windshield of a vehicle, e.g., an automobile, wherein the sunshade is mounted on the vehicle body roof for movement between a storage position adjacent the vehicle headliner, a first use position adjacent the windshield, and a second use position adjacent a side door window opening.
In recent years, the trend in automobile design has been to move or angle the windshield forwardly of the passengers and to narrow the width of the vehicle. Consequently, a sunshade that is properly sized and mounted for use in its first use position adjacent the windshield may not extend far enough back when pivoted to its second use position adjacent the side door window. In order to maintain a proper sunshade size and still allow a passenger to selectively increase the coverage area of the sunshade to cover the side door window, sunshades having retractable extenders have been developed.
One prior art design for a sunshade having a retractable extender includes a one piece core that is molded of a plastic material in two integral half sections that fold upon themselves to form the one piece core. The half sections form a cavity or recess within the core, into which a separate extender blade is slidingly received through an access opening in one of the half sections. The access opening is located on the side of the sunshade that faces the interior of the vehicle when the sunshade is in its storage and second use positions.
In the aforementioned prior art sunshade design, the exposed edge of the extender blade includes an outwardly projecting handle portion that both facilitates engagement by the fingertips of a passenger and limits the extent of retraction of the extender blade into the recess. In its fully retracted position, the extender blade is visible and hence easily accessible from only one side of the sunshade, i.e., the extender blade is not visible to the passenger when the sunshade is in its first use position adjacent the windshield. Not only does this make the extender inconvenient to operate from all positions of the sunshade, but it also diminishes the perceived value that the extender would have if it were always visible to the consumer.
A further disadvantage of the aforementioned prior art sunshade design, wherein a molded one piece core is used, is that the manufacture of sunshades with and without extender assemblies requires different molds or molds having inserts or plugs. Also, a desired amount of sliding friction is achieved between the extender blade and the recess within the core by utilizing a resilient extender blade having a preformed curvature. The friction produced by this method may not be predictable, and the curvature in the extender blade may become visibly noticeable when the blade is fully extended
The present invention is directed to overcoming the aforementioned problems associated with sunshades having retractable extenders, wherein it is desired to provide a sunshade assembly that is easily manufactured and operated, and one that has greater perceived value.